Waterford Hills Landfill

The Waterford Hills Sanitary Landfill was used for sand and gravel mining operations prior to 1981. The landfill was issued a Type II municipal solid waste landfill permit by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). The facility continued to receive waste until October 1990, at which time a Cease and Desist Order was issued by MDNR. The order was issued as a result of the detection of volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and other contaminants in groundwater samples obtained from monitoring wells at the site between 1988 and 1990. In 2004, the landfill gas extraction system piping network was modified and expanded to promote improved capture of landfill gas.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has continued to maintain the integrity of the closed landfill facilities, operate the landfill gas extraction system, and monitor the quality of leachate, which is discharged to the sanitary sewer system under City of Detroit Wastewater Discharge Permit. In 2019 the scope of work was modified to address PFAS compounds in leachate. 

In adding the PFAS requirement for compliance to the discharge permit, ERG redesigned the leachate pretreatment system. This included assisting EGLE with PFAS sampling associated with compliance monitoring and groundwater monitoring.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) requested that ERG oversee a Trade Contractor, close out construction tasks, conduct groundwater sampling, oversee operations and maintenance and provide professional technical assistance regarding system operations of the Waterford Hills Sanitary Landfill (EGLE Site ID #63000165).

ERG assists the EGLE effort to achieve compliance with the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) discharge permit limits, monitor groundwater quality near the landfill and maintain landfill gas control at the site.

ERG redesigned the leachate pretreatment system to remove per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the leachate prior to discharging into the sewer. The treatment system consists of components of particle filtration, adsorption and ion exchange to meet the discharge limits established by the GLWA.

 SERVICES PROVIDED

Soil & groundwater investigations

Site remediation

Real estate assessment & due diligence

Brownfield redevelopment

Solid waste landfill services